Every time I find a color that looks great on me, I find out it's one of those colors that's supposed to look good on everyone, lol. I don't think I'm making the dreadful color mistakes I made in my experimental youth, but I have yet to find a color palette that has all the colors that work for me. There is always a good # of colors that don't work, as well as some that I think shouldn't be included. Maybe I'm some sort of hybrid. Have you ever looked at a swatchbook and wondered who decided to put those colors together?

Ah but think of it as if it looks great on you and you feel great in it its a good thing. A lot of those colors are not ones I see often on people so you will proberly stand out. I lot of people here seem to stick to black, white or Browns

You have a point there. I love color and don't want to default to black or even navy just because it's easy.

Your eye color is slightly lighter in green than my own and I have a grey-ish ring around the iris. I call my eye color green-hazel due to the three different colors. But my eyes aren't bright in color -- the whole effect is muted, with eye whites not being brilliant white but softer white. My eyebrows, similar to yours, aren't a full arch but 3/4 arch, and that wide expanse of fair skin between eye and eyebrow means I look either washed out or tart-y made-up quite easily! The overall effect in my fair coloring is muted, like a slight fog over the morning light instead of brilliant sunlight at noon, and this is characteristic of soft summers as I understand the theory.

I think if you don't like to go for more than medium contrast, you can call yourself a soft summer. I've made peace with my face by using handbags in bold colors and strong lines (which keeps my theatrical side happy).

I think with any color board you will find colors you love and colors you are not so keen on. I prefer darker tones of all colors myself but have not figured out if they prefer me. The will be a multicoloured photo post for another day

Black isn't a color though -- it's the absence of color.

I'm told my best colors are "murky" aka they have some black mixed into them. And yeah I believe that to be true. In fact 98% of the colors in my closet fit that description.

But I push the line often anyway, as I do like a clear & bright color every now and then, like my current favorite coat. Right now I am sporting OPI Big Apple red nails, which is the identical color to that coat. I can see that it's not the ideal color for my skin tone. A burgundy or plum or magenta or blue-based red is much more flattering. But I love the color and it's not horrible so I work it in anyway.

I'm also not supposed to wear autumn colors. I agree these are not the best for me, especially oranges and yellows and beiges. But sometimes I can find just the right blue-based orange or yellow, and it works, if worn with white not beige. And certain shades of autumn green (like an army jacket green) go really well with my eyes so like my Big Apple red coat I work it in anyway.

Cobalt is actually also not supposed to be in my color wheelhouse, as it's a clear color -- winter -- not murky. But a jolt of cobalt is so much fun so I usually have some of this in my closet somewhere too.

I think what I've learned is that it's more about the overall mix of colors and how you contrast them against each other, if that makes sense? If I incorporate some black or some white, I can usually make a color work.

ETA: oh wow, it just occurred to me what I'm doing: I add black to murky-up a clear color, and add white to brighten it up... okay maybe that's obvious to everyone else but that only just clicked for me....d'oh! Then again I took that color test that was going around FB awhile back and it said I did not do the greatest job discerning the subtleties between different shades.

I guess I'll go the soft summer direction and see where that leads. I'm not going to get any concrete answers even if I go to a color analyst, because everyone sees color differently and what color palette is best is a very subjective thing. In my opinion. You all have been very helpful and have echoed what I already thought might be true. Thanks!

This thread has been a huge revelation to me -- thanks so much for starting it!!! Something has finally clicked with me over here...

I am only just realizing now why I could not duplicate an Angie outfit with tomato red coat, white jeans, apple green specs, yellow handbag.... that would be wayyyyyy too many clear bright colors in one outfit for me! But take the same coat and pop it over black pants and a denim shirt, with no white accessories at all ... and now it feels right for me. Because the black is toning the entire outfit down towards the murky / medium part of the spectrum.

Meanwhile if I wear a head to toe black outfit, that also doesn't feel right to me either. I intuitively add something white, then it works, like magic. Because the white is moving the black more towards medium!!

Whereas if I wear head to toe grey (any shade of grey) which should be a medium (right?) I am apt to want to add some navy or blue. Because .... I don't know? I'm more cool toned? Would someone warm toned be inclined to add some yellow or orange or cognac?

Late to the party but, I would say neutral to cool. Definitely not warm.

Looking back at that eye chart, I think my eyes are more like #6 on line 2 (next to last eye color on line 2). That would make them blue hazel??? That little smudge of brown puts them into the hazel category, I suppose, even though it's such a tiny amount of brown that it's barely noticeable. think neutral-cool, too. On the cool side of neutral. That would still be soft summer on the cool-warm continuum.

Shiny, I do believe that colors can look different depending on what they're paired with. Angie has talked about this from time to time. I, like you, am a slow learner.

I clicked on that eye chart link and it's not the one I remembered from before. I remember this one instead, from wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_color

Not to complicate matters. But you may see why I pondered that your eyes may actually be grey with yellow?

Then I recalled that my DD#2 took a series of eye photos for a photography class back in HS. Here's some with her family being the guinea pigs:

pic 1 - me (L) and DH (R)
pic 2 - DH (L) and DD#1 (R)
pic 3 - DD#1 (L) and me (R)

Pic 1 really weirds me out because everyone, and I mean everyone, says my DH has green eyes, but in this pic and others with the two of us, mine somehow appear greener?

Meanwhile DD#2's eyes not in any of the photos since she was behind the camera but her eyes I've always described as denim blue, and DD#2's as navy blue. DD#2 wears most of the same colors I do, and DD#1 prefers more clear/brights... and can and has dyed her hair every color of the rainbow... and looks great in all hair colors.

I would say your eyes are cool toned. I can not tell from the picture what colour they are.
I have read a lot of information on colour analysis. When I look at my veins they look blue but I have warm hair, eyes and skin. I have been professionally draped as a Warm Autumn.

The think that confuses me a lot is the fact that pink makeup doesn't work on you.
So maybe you are a summer, but also can wear autumn colours.
I guess what I'm saying is, don't discount autumn colours.

For fun, you could try on a few warm colours at a store just to see (if you haven't done this already).

Or try on a burgundy and raspberry and see which one looks better.

Smittie, I'm every bit as confused as you are! It's interesting to note that Imogen (over at Imogen's Inside Out Style blog) once posted that she has to wear yellow-based foundation makeup even though she is cool. She always wears, and looks great in, cool colors. If I am a Summer who can wear a few Autumn colors, which I think may be the case, then I may indeed be a Soft Summer. Cool Summers can't wear any warm colors, while Soft Summers can wear some.

Ah ok. You see, I have grey eyes, and wear pink makeup well. So I think I'm a cool summer (or cool winter). I think being firmly in the cool camp makes the colour analysis so much easier (but the downside is that I can't wear very many colours well!)
So I guess we're different, but with a few similarities.

I remember reading somewhere that you need to match your foundation to your skin color, not your undertone. My skin is cool but a yellow-ish cast to it, for whatever reason, so if my foundation is pinky, it doesn't match.

Betty, from what you've said it sounds like you have a good handle on the color characteristics that look good on you. They may or may not fit neatly into a season. As well, your personality and taste will come into play. If you feel medium, neither too cool nor too warm colors are flattering, there you go! BTW, I say that as someone who becomes OBSESSIVE over finding parameters to work within, so I am not dismissing your search - only saying you are quite right to expect that a "perfect" fit may not be quite possible and you will likely have to add your own spin to it no matter what

Shiny, color is one thing and contrast is another - it sounds like you need perhaps a medium contrast? That could be why you don't love a full-on gray look on yourself, even though gray as a color works for you?

Shiny, I don't know if it helps you, but whenever I wear gray, I usually wear a medium gray with a dark gray. I think the reason I like prints so much is because they allow me to combine light, medium and dark colors together. I have this thing about wearing red or burgundy with brown or tan instead of with black or white (or even gray).

Interesting about the gray. I much prefer a light grey, and worn with a pop of white somewhere, but I think that is more about contrast and my hair color, than my skin tone. I do wear medium and darker grays as well, but I find they work best with a blue undertone.

I do suspect you are a soft summer, which is what I think I am as well.

Re-visited this thread because I was going through old photos and found another pic of my eye -- does this not look like my eyes are green? Or am I slightly color blind (a possibility -- my dad is. He can't distinguish between blue and green at all.)

I think they look blueish green, but apparently I have trouble dustinguishing colors, too. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking what color my eyes are, lol.

Shiny, turquoise! Wow!